An Explosive Cocktail
by CBloom2
Summary: Nothing to do with the summer trailer (if you've seen it). Just something that's been running through my head for a while. Supposed to be a drink with friends - what could go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi again, it's the summer holidays for all of us who are at or work in schools - yey! So I'm hoping that I get hit with the inspiration stick and that all I want to do is write for our boys.**

 **This is a story I've been writing notes for for a while now, before the summer trailer came out. It's an explosion but nothing to do with the one on the trailer. Obviously it features the boys (well men) with some of our other favourites popping up. Hope you like it.**

 **As usual I don't own anyone that you recognise - I just borrow them to hurt them every so often.**

 **An Explosive Cocktail**

Dr Ethan Hardy sighed deeply as he signed the set of notes in front of him and placed them in the out tray. Another patient discharged and only two hours into his shift. He ran a hand through his hair and adjusted his glasses. He was already bone tired from studying, so a ten hour shift was last on his list of priorities.

"Good evening Ethan," a voice called from behind him.

"Good evening Lily, how's it going?"

The young doctor smiled sweetly at him, "Very well. I've already seen many patients...it certainly is busy tonight."  
"Isn't it always when all you want to do is sleep," he sighed.

"Everything alright Ethan?" Lily asked with concern.

"Oh yes. I'm just tired and a little grumpy. I'm studying every hour god sends, except when I'm working, then I'm trying to make sure I give Cal enough time to study by being as quiet as I can at home. I just don't know why he doesn't want to study with me? We're doing the same thing after all, we could probably help each other," he took a deep breath, "I'm sorry Lily - you didn't need to hear me moaning."

Lily placed a hand on his shoulder, "That's what friends do Ethan, and I'm here any time you need me."

Ethan smiled his thanks, unaware of the butterfiles tumbling around the young woman's stomach.

"Right, it seems to be quiet at the moment - coffee?" Ethan asked his colleague, who accepted immediately. As they walked to the staff room, he glanced over towards the coffee shop usually manned by the beautiful Barista Honey, but the shutter was down and Ethan felt a pang of disappointment run through him.

Just as they were about to enter the staff room, a massive boom filled the air around them - the whole place shuddering around them. Lily looked at Ethan in shock, "What on earth?"

Ethan shrugged his shoulders, waiting to see what followed. It was obvious that an explosion had occurred but where? That was the question.

Suddenly a flurry of people tumbled into the ED. Most were covered in dust and dirt, although one or two had some cuts and bruises, "What happened?" Lily demanded.

"The pub's exploded..." one of the young men she was tending to told her.

Ethan, who was next to them, looked up, his face paling, his blood running cold. He quickly passed some gauze to an assisting nurse, turned on his heel and dashed out of the ED.

He pushed his way through the oncoming tide of people until he felt the cold, evening air. There was screaming and crying filling the air, but Ethan heard none of it once he had turned to look at the scene.

To him it looked like half the pub had gone! Smoke filled the air as debris rained down around him, "Ethan! Ethan mate are you alright?"

He spun round to see Dixie and Ian running towards him with Big Mac following in their wake, "What? Yes...yes...I wasn't in there..."

Dixie and Ian nodded as they left him to tend to the wounded. Big Mac, who could see that Ethan was struggling to take in what was happening, came up beside him and placed a hand on his arm, "Shall we see if we can help?" he asked gently. Ethan looked surprised to see him, but nodded his agreement and let the older man guide him to where he was needed.

As they approached the pub, the crying and screams intensified. Ethan felt a painful lump form in his throat, but he pushed it down, he needed to be professional, people were counting on him.

He spent the next, who knew how much time, triaging at the scene. So far, thankfully, no-one had lost their life - a miracle in itself!

As he scurried through the chaos before him, he failed to notice a stumbling form emerging from the smoke.

"Max!" He heard Dixie shout the young porters name. He spun round to see him almost on his knees. He dashed towards him, panic squeezing at his chest, "Max?"

He caught hold of him as he stumbled, easing his hold slightly as Max audibly winced. He managed to steady the young porter, who looked at him with tears in his eyes, "Ethan?"

Ethan nodded at the obviously shocked man, "Yes, it's me. I'll take care of you."

Max gripped onto Ethan's scrubs, a tear falling down his cheek, "Ethan...Cal's in there..."

 **Leaving the first chapter there - evil or what? Hee hee. Will try to update asap if you want me to!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Oh my goodness! Thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed the first chapter! I can always count on the Casualty faithful - you guys are brilliant.**

 **Here comes the next chapter...**

An Explosive Cocktail - Chapter 2

At first, Ethan couldn't take in what Max had told him, "What?" he choked out.

"Cal's still in there...he'd just gone to the loo...there's so much dust and smoke...I couldn't see him..." Max broke into a coughing fit as Ethan stared at him as if he'd never seen him before, "I'm sure I saw some of the others too..." he coughed out.

"MAX!"

Both men whirled round to see Zoe and Robyn pounding through the car park, both launching themselves at the stricken man.

"I think he's inhaled a lot of smoke and dust," Ethan passed on, slipping into doctor mode once more. He also saw the moment when Zoe's professional mask slipped back into place, "Robyn, take him inside and get him on some oxygen - I might be needed here. I'll be in soon," she promised her boyfriend as she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She watched them leave for a few seconds, then dragged her attention back to the matter in hand, "What do we know?" she asked.

"Cal's in there," was all Ethan could muster.

Zoe laid an hand on his arm, "The emergency services are here, they'll find him," she tried to reassure the obviously frightened young doctor.

Ethan felt a new wave of anxiety wash over him as suddenly everything seemed to be pushing down on him. The noise seemed deafening, the air was thick with smoke and debris. Before he knew what was happening, his legs were moving and he was making his way towards the battered building, "Ethan! Wait!" he heard Zoe shout.

"There are people trapped inside, we can't wait..." he yelled back as he picked up speed. After the oppresive noise of earlier, all he could hear now was the pounding of his own heartbeat.

As soon as he set foot through what used to be the doorway, he was hit by a wall of dust causing him to cough violently. He tried to cover his nose and mouth with his scrub top in a vain attempt to stop more dust from entering his already irritated lungs.

"Cal!" He called out for his brother as he stumbled through what looked like a warzone. He ducked under pieces of falling ceiling. He dodged other falling debris, hissing as one piece of ceiling connected with his shoulder. He could feel the heat from a couple of small fires, but by the looks of them, they weren't any cause for concern. All the while he was trying to get his bearings - trying to figure out which way Cal could have gone.

Suddenly, he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He stumbled over towards it, hope filling his entire being. That hope, however, vanished when he came across Noel with Lofty laid out at the side of him, "Noel? Lofty? Are you hurt?" he managed to choke out.

Lofty looked at him blankly, Noel on the other hand, started looking around frantically, "Honey, have you seen Honey? She was here with us! Please, you've got to find her!"

Ethan felt a lead weight settle in his stomach, "She was next to me," Noel babbled, "Please tell me that she's alright," he pleaded.

Before Ethan could answer, he heard a slight groan coming from his left. He scrambled towards the sound, finding Honey under a pile of tables, "Honey, are you alright?" he asked as he pushed the tables off of her.

"Ethan? I'm so glad to see you. You're my hero..." she tried to smile, but it turned into a grimace.

"Court jester, remember?" Ethan tried to lighten the mood as he examined her, "Hmm, looks like a broken arm, but we'd have to x-ray it...your dad's over there, he's fine, just worried about you," he reassured her as he gently pulled her up and she tested her balance. She smiled at him as he nodded his encouragement and before long, father and daughter were reunited. Noel and Honey leaned on each other as Ethan helped Lofty, who was bleeding from a head wound.

They all staggered out of the dust filled shell, relieved to be in one piece. As they reached the fresher air, Ethan was overcome by a coughing fit, which doubled him over. Zoe took charge of the injured, but before she could do anything for Ethan a new voice joined the throng, "Dr Hardy, what were you thinking? Going in there...alone...you're not Superman you know?"

Connie's face was pinched with anxiety, but that was lost on Ethan, "People are trapped. People we work with, that we care about...my brother is..." he choked out, willing the sudden onslaught of dizziness to subside.

Connie, being ever vigilant, noticed this and slipped an arm around the young doctors shoulder, "Ethan, it's to dangerous," she told him quietly.

"I can't leave him in there...I just can't. You know he's all I've got...I can't..." He began coughing once more.

Zoe quickly joined them trying to assess their best course of action, when suddenly, another explosion ripped through the already badly damaged building. Ethan gasped audibly as he ducked more debris, feeling as if his heart had been torn in two by the sound.

After the initial shock wore off, Ethan stepped forward, only to be stopped by Connie's hand, "You can't go in there Ethan!"

Ethan pulled his arm out of her grip, "My brother's in there...I will not lose him!" he insisted. Then with once last look at Connie and Zoe's concerned faces, he dashed back into the perilous building.

 **Just to clarify - in the part where I wrote than Ethan felt his hope vanish when he saw Noel and Lofty, I didn't mean that he wasn't glad to see them - it was meant that he was hoping to see Cal, but he would be glad that he found the others too.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Have I told you lately that you are the best! Some lovely reviews, which really inspire me to keep going!**

 **So shall we see if Ethan manages to save Cal?**

An Explosive Cocktail - Chapter 3

Zoe watched anxiously as Ethan entered the building. She would never have expected the young doctor to dive headlong into a burning building, but family comes first and Ethan's only family was still in that building.

Thankfully, the chaotic scene from earler had diminished somewhat as the majority of the injured had been ferried to different local hospitals. Everyone had been accounted for except for Cal, and now Ethan, "Come on Ethan," she breathed, searching frantically for any sort of indication of where the young doctor was.

She felt a presence appear next to her. She turned slightly to see Honey, her arm in a sling, staring at the delapidated building with an expression that was probably similar to her own, "He went back in didn't he?" she whispered to Zoe.

Zoe took hold of her hand, "Yes he did. Cal's in there so nothing was going to stop him," she explained as a tear tracked it's way down the younger woman's cheek.

"You really care about him don't you?" Zoe's question was out of her mouth before she'd even thought about it.

Honey ducked her head slightly, "He's so lovely to me. He knows I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but he listens to me, he makes me laugh - never had that before you know?"

Zoe squeezed her hand, "I know. I'm sure..."

"Here they come!" Dixie yelled excitedly as a flurry of movement caught their eye.

All eyes were fixed on the entrance to the building, where two figures emerged. The smaller of them had managed to lift the taller over his shoulder, but he was almost on his knees. Connie, Zoe and Honey all set off running, closely followed by Dixie and Ian. By the time they reached them, Ethan had dropped to his knees, clinging onto his brother so as not to drop him. Dixie and Ian managed to gently take hold of Cal and laid him on a stretcher, "What can you tell us?" Dixie asked softly.

"Looks like... _cough_...thrown against wall... _cough, cough_...ceiling on top of... _cough_...him...airway seems clear... _cough, cough, cough_."

Ethan managed to stand, with the help of a relieved Honey as he watched Dixie and Ian wheel his brother away.

As he mad to follow them, another coughing fit assaulted him. He leaned heavily on Honey as he tried to ignore the feeling of dizziness with every, increasingly painful cough. Before he knew what was happening, strong arms encircled him holding him upright as his legs seemed to have forgotten how to work. He was vaguely aware of Mac's voice in his ear, explaining to him that they were very close to the ED and that someone would check on him very soon.

With the help of his friends, Ethan all but fell into the building. He was soon sat in a cubicle, hooked up to some oxygen, while everyone else seemed to be dashing about. He tried to drag the oxygen mask off, but Honey, who had stayed with him, soon made him put it back on. He tried to make her understand that he needed to find out how his brother was doing. He couldn't rest until he found out something...anything.

Suddenly a figure appeared by his curtain, "Lily," he croaked, pleased to see his fellow doctor. The young woman smiled at him as she went about checking his blood pressure, "Cal...how's Cal?" he managed to breath out before he started coughing again. Lily sat herself on the edge of his bed and laid a comforting hand on his arm, "Cal's in surgery Ethan," she began, patting his arm when she saw panic etched on her friend's face, "He's got a badly broken leg, which they are having to put pins in and and bump on the head, but he should be fine..."

Ethan let out a breath that he hadn't realised he had been holding, wincing as he did so - tears stinging his eyes. Lily immediately noticed a change in his demeanour, "Are you feeling alright Ethan? Are you having any pain? Breathlessness?"

"Perhaps a little..."

"I'll take that as a yes then, "Lily smiled calmly at him as the young man ducked his head in embarrassment.

"Ethan..." he heard Honey's choked cry.

He turned a little to look at her, "I'll be fine..."

Before he could say anything else, he began to cough again. Even Lily winced as she watched her friend almost folded in half as the coughing took hold. Her relaxed manner changed slightly as she encouraged the young doctor to keep using the oxygen. As he did so, his eyes began to drift closed, "Tell...Cal...I'll see him...later..."

Lily smiled as she stood over him as he drifted off to sleep, "Is he alright?" Honey asked, upset at seeing him drift off the way he did.

Lily nodded, "He's exhausted. The coughing is taking a lot out of him. Sleep is the best thing for him, well apart from oxygen."

Honey nodded her understanding, her eyes filling with tears, "He wouldn't give up you know. He got me, dad and Lofty out - but he wouldn't give up on Cal," she told the doctor.

Lily looked at the woman who, after watching them together, had obviously stolen Ethan's heart, "I wouldn't have expected anything less from Ethan Hardy," she smiled.

Suddenly, Zoe appeared behing them, "Oh," she exclaimed, "I came to tell him that Cal is out of theatre and that he's going to be fine."

"That's good news," Lily agreed, "Can we put them together? After all the bad feeling between them, when one hurts, the other one does. They need each other."

Zoe nodded knowingly, "I'll see what I can do," she told them.

 **So they both made it out. Ethan is a hero, of course.**

 **The next chapter is the last and it will be full of brotherly goodness.**

 **Til next time - please review xxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Have I told you lately that I love you all?**

 **Once more, a huge thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. I know I've said it before but I'll say it again, it really does mean a lot to know that you, my fellow Casualty fans, enjoy what I write.**

 **So here's the last chapter - full of brotherly fluff and I'm not ashamed!**

An Explosive Cocktail - Chapter 4

Ethan felt like he was clawing through fog. What the hell had happened to him? He recognised the smell and noise that assaulted his senses. Why was he in the hospital? Realisation dawned on him as his eyes shot open, immediately regretting it as the light hurt his eyes causing him to groan, "Ethan," he heard from his right. He turned his head as quickly as he dared and managed a small smile when he saw Honey watching him closely, "Honey," he croaked, "Are you alright?"

He felt breathless just from asking that simple question. Honey took hold of his hand, smiling brightly, "Oh I'm fine...well apart from the obvious," she told him, showing the sling, "But I'm totally ok. Dad and Lofty too. You got us all out - you were so brave Ethan..." she cooed.

"Some may say stupid," a sterner voice took over - one that he recognised immediately and filled him with dread.

"I had to go in," he gasped, "Cal..."

Suddenly his eyes went wide again, "Cal! Where is he? Is he alright?" He pulled himself upright in the bed, his frantic gaze locked onto Connie's face. She moved forward and placed a hand on his arm to try to calm him, "Take some time to calm yourself Ethan and when you have do - turn to your left," she smiled as she watched the young doctors face relax a little. Ethan took some deep breaths, as deep as he dared before it made him cough again - then directed his gaze to the left.

He almost cried with relief when he saw his brother fast asleep in the bed next to him.

"We had to put some pins in his leg - it was broken badly. It will take a while to fully heal, he may even have a limp for a while..."

"But he's alive," Ethan finished for her.

Connie smiled sincerely, "Yes he is, thanks to you," she reminded him. She then glanced to Honey, "Don't keep him awake to long, he needs some rest."

Honey nodded as she began to collect her things together, "Yes you do," she told Ethan, who's eyes were already starting to close again, "Can I come again tomorrow?"

Ethan managed to open his eyes once more, "Yes please - I would like that."

She leaned over, placing a gentle kiss on his forhead, "Thank you for saving us."

As she stood up, she looked carefully at the young doctor who made her heart flutter, smiling as she watched the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

"Let's leave him to rest," Connie advised softly, holding the door for the younger woman to exit.

Cal woke to see Robyn fussing around him, checking his obs, "Hey," he whispered.

Although his voice had made her jump she soon broke into a happy smile, "Oh it's good to see you awake," she told him.

"How did I get here?" he asked.

"Can you remember anything?" she watched him closely.

Cal frowned as he tried to remember, "I remember being in the pub - I was going to the loo, then..." his eyes grew wide, "There was a loud bang, and that's it..." his eyes began to fill with tears.

"There was an explosion in the pub - apparantly you were thrown into a wall by the force of the blast, Ethan..."

Cal snapped his gaze towards her, "Ethan? Please don't tell me he was there. I thought he was working! I thought..."

Robyn could see that the young doctor was beginning to panic, "Ethan was working. Don't worry. But..."

"But what Robyn? What happened to him?"

"You need to calm down Cal, please," she pleaded with the irrate man.

Cal took some deep breaths to try to calm himself, but he needed to know what she wasn't telling him about his brother.

"Ethan was on scene to help triage patients - he knew you were in there. He was in a right state, but he never let it affect his professionalism. Max got out and said that you were trapped in there somewhere and that was it - Ethan was straight in there trying to find you..."

Cal was still trying to breathe deeply as he tried to take in what the nurse was telling him, "Cal, he's here, he's next to you, he's fine..." she reassured him as she moved out of his line of vision. Cal visibly relaxed when he saw his little brother asleep on the bed although the oxygen mask caused him some concern, "He got Noel, Lofty and Honey out, but then there was another explosion...he didn't hesitate Cal, not for a moment. He disappered once more into the building and about five minutes later, he came out carrying you. He never gave up."

Cal nodded as he listened, "So why is he hooked up to a mask, unconsious?"

"He inhaled a lot of smoke and dust, which has irritated his lungs. He can't go more than a few seconds without coughing at the moment, which is causing him a lot of discomfort. Now onto you, you have a badly broken leg, which has got pins in. It will take a while to heal, but with some physiotherapy you will make a full recovery."

"Can I sit up a bit?"

"Yes, let me lift the back, but let me know if you feel dizzy."

Robyn lifted the back of his bed a little until Cal was happy that he could see his brother easier, "Thanks Robyn," he sighed deeply, "I can't believe he did it."

"Did what?" Now Robyn looked confused.

"Ran into a burning building. Risked his life like that! Of all the stupid, idiotic...he's supposed to be the clever one..." He had to look away as tears stung his eyes once more.

Robyn patted his shoulder gently. She knew that he wasn't really angry at his brother, he was suddenly very afraid of what might have happened, "Get some rest," she advised him as she left the room.

Not to long after Robyn had left, Ethan began to stir. He waited for the familiar irritation in his throat to begin, but it didn't. He realised that they were in a room with a bathroom, so he decided to try to make it there on his own. He swung his legs out of the bed and tested his strength as he waited for a bout of dizziness to subside. Thankfully, he made it there and back without any further incident. As he sat back down on his bed, he glanced across at his brother, noticing that he was more upright than before. As he watched him sleep, he felt a shudder run through him as he recalled the moment he found his brother trapped under rubble with his leg bent at a very strange angle.

"If you take a picture, it'll last longer," he heard his brother say.

Ethan smiled. He carefully made his way to the side of Cal's bed.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Teriffic. Leg feels like a wall fell on it, but Robyn has been giving me plenty of the good stuff so..."

"Good to see your sense of humour intact."

"Take more than a pub explosion to knock that out of me...hey, you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't think," he finished when he saw the stricken expression on his brother's face.

"No, it's fine. I just remember hearing the explosion, which was bad enough, but then hearing you were trapped in there somewhere well, I'm sure my heart stopped...drama queen, I know...I just, well I can't remember being that scared before..."

Anything else he was going to say was swallowed up by a sudden coughing fit as bad as any of the others that he'd had. He winced as pain flared through his already weakend lungs.

"Ethan..." Cal tried to get out of bed but the cast on his legs and the wires stopped him.

Ethan waved him away and staggered back to his own bed and placed the mask over his face once more, trying to calm his breathing so that the irritation would cease.

Cal's eyes never left his brother - concern for his brother's health increasing.

When the coughing subsided, Ethan caught sight of the older man's anxious face, "I'm ok," he gasped.

"I'd be more inclined to agree if you weren't laid there sucking on the oxygen," Cal insisted, "You know, being a doctor, should be a relativly safe occupation. In the past six months you've nearly died in a car crash, then we've both been in trouble today - I think I might join the army or something instead - must be safer!"

Ethan smirked as he watched his brother, noting how serious he looked, "I would do it again Cal. Nothing would stop me from coming after you if you were in trouble."

"Nothing has little brother. You're always there to pull me back from brink," Cal felt emotion building in his chest.

"We've lost mum and dad, we lost Jeff, you lost Taylor, but I couldn't lose you too Cal," Ethan felt a tear track down his face. It was true - after everything, he couldn't imagine his life without his over bearing, irritating big brother.

He laid his head back on the pillow, the last coughing fit having taken a lot out of him, "Hey little brother - are you ok?" Ethan smiled at his brother's question...he loved him so very much, yet he never told him, "Yes I'm just tired, that's all."

"Then perhaps it's time you both got some rest," Robyn popped her head through the door, smiling when the brothers both looked at her as if they had been caught with their hand in the biscuit tin.

They both settled quite quickly, "Cal," he heard from his brother, "I love you you know."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"God, you always have to make things so hard don't you? I love you, you idiot...I know I very rarely say it..."

"I love you too and I am proud of what you did today. You were a hero you know."

"I don't know about that, but thanks. Right, let's get to sleep before it gets to awkward," he smiled when he heard Cal chuckle.

When Robyn came to do the last obs of the night, she was met by a sight that she would never have thought she would ever see, especially from Cal and Ethan. They were both fast asleep, with an arm outstretced, their fingertips touching ever so slightly.

 **Total fluffy overload! Told you.**

 **Hope you liked it. Just waiting for more inspiration now. Til next time.**


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